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Motorists who kill cyclists and pedestrians face tougher penalties under a
crackdown on dangerous driving.

Drivers convicted of causing death by dangerous driving currently face a
maximum 14 years in prison.

In 2008, a new offence of causing death by careless driving, punishable with
up to five years in jail, was introduced, but road safety campaigners warned
that drivers would be pursued for lesser charges as a result.

A sentencing review will be launched early next year, the Department for
Transport (DfT) says today in its response to the Get
Britain Cycling inquiry.The announcement follows a
cross-party parliamentary report urging ministers to ensure that drivers
who kill or maim are taken seriously by police, prosecutors and judges.

British Cycling,
the sport’s governing body, highlighted the case of a former employee, Rob
Jefferies, 43, who was killed when Lee Cahill, 17, drove into him from
behind in broad daylight. Despite having only held a driving licence for six
months, Cahill already had a speeding conviction. He pleaded guilty to
causing death by careless driving and received a 12-month community order,
200 hours of community service, an 18-month driving ban and was ordered to
pay £85 costs.

Martin Gibbs, the director of legal affairs at British Cycling, said: “We’ve
been asking the Government for a review of the sentencing guidelines so I’m
glad to see that confirmed, though it should form part of a comprehensive
review of the criminal justice process, which all too often fails people on
bikes by not prosecuting or by returning sentences which don’t reflect the
seriousness of the crime.”

Roger Geffen, the head of campaigns at the CTC national cycling charity, urged
the courts to make greater use of driving bans.

The parliamentary report, funded by a £10,000 donation from the parent company
of The Times, made 18 recommendations for increasing cycle use,
including greater Government spending, a 20mph speed limit on residential
streets, access for all schoolchildren to cycle training, better road
surfaces and junctions and widespread cycle routes.

The DfT said it was considering introducing in 2015 priority traffic lights
for cyclists and filter signals as a way of giving cyclists a head start at
traffic lights.

Sir Chris Hoy has called on the major parties to make “ambitious” pledges to
boost cycling in their manifestos, saying it would be a “dream scenario” if
the streets were safe enough for his infant son to cycle to school with his
Olympian father when he is older